Mike Deaven

Yeah, I just want to add my voice to calling out this absurdity. And as much as I like Nick and his comedy, there is an issue with someone spouting nonsense like that as though it is fact without properly informing themselves. Imagine that, a "Natural Doctor" can find all these parasites that actual doctors cannot, and then they cure them with vegetable juice. Especially hilarious is that Giardia infections generally clear up on their own. So yeah, I feel bad for Nick because he's totally been had by a quack, but also he should inform himself better before he goes off spewing this bullshit.

Debating over a forum is never pleasant, and I would love to get coffee, but unfortunately pretty far from LA. In any case, we probably don't have much of a debate because I agree with what you've written here. College is definitely not for everyone, and we do need to stop thinking that it is a requirement or the end-all be-all of professional development. The shades of gray you speak of are all I wanted to point out, and I imagine that your initial statement is colored by the fact that we so often hear now that college is required or essential, so you felt the need to make a strong counterpoint. I think what we should be emphasizing is there are many options that are available for further development, professional or otherwise. In any case, I appreciate you reading my comments and responding to them thoughtfully, and keep up the good work, really enjoying the show!

Hey guys, love your show, but I have to disagree with you Jeff. I think you make a bit of a sweeping generalization, excepting only doctors and lawyers, saying that education isn't worth it or isn't valuable. First of all, the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) are almost always going to require a college education. Partly for resources (can't just have chemicals to work with at your house, or a high end unix server to work with for tech), and partly for the value of peer review throughout education (especially valuable for math). Not to mention that to become any kind of scientist likely requires many additional years in the education system. Second, not everyone has a pal in Zurich where they can send there kids, or the resources to do so even if they do, and there is no financial aid for these kinds of "life experiences." Some people can't even afford a computer, so going to college with financial aid may be their only way to access some resources. It may be their only avenue for more broad exposure to the world. And speaking personally as a software developer who has been writing code since he was 10, the knowledge I gained in college has drastically changed how I write code and develop in teams as opposed to an island. You could "learn on the job" in some cases, but companies at the current time are more and more reluctant to support a developer who needs "development." They need at least a level of assurance that this person has learned how to develop maintainable code with multiple team members, and a degree offers this. And finally, ignoring all these other things, not everyone is or can be or wants to be an entrepreneur! You tout your ability to go start your own business, but you talk about constantly that you work weekends, you work late... some people do not want this quality of life. My college degree has allowed me to have a job that makes good money with 9 to 5 and weekends free! Some people actually want that! And that's not to say I am lazy, I just prefer a life with less stress and demands on my time. Also, What about social work, or these types of public service jobs? They cannot be created or trained for through entrepreneurship. The cost of college is certainly getting out of control, and having attended a state-supported school, I strongly urge people I talk to to way the pros and cons of spending potentially 100s of thousands extra for the "name" school or whatever, but it remains a valuable investment for many fields. Your field of entertainment certainly may not be one of them, but Doctor and Lawyer hardly covers it.

First, @Jeff. The only note I would add about your comments is that a brief intro by Matt to the judges before each clip would only have to be one line, just a quick explanation of what they do. I think when you consider the amount of time spend after the fact rehashing, with the judges having to ask what they do, and Matt having to go back and explain what they do while adding the context of the current challenge, I think a quick, clear line up front describing the show from Matt would be extremely helpful for the judges, and as for your concerns about repetition, it would at least eliminate the repeated theme of a lot of the judges comments, that they don't know what they do. Second, and I'm going to say this again because last time I did nobody commented... Does the audio for TL bother anyone else? There is like a weird buzziness to it or something, but I can't put my finger on it and I want someone else to confirm what I'm hearing. Sometimes it feels like the show is being played through a kazoo or something... I don't know how to describe. Does anyone else out there hear it? Should I see my otolaryngologist? Just a final note, GODDAMN I love listening to this podcast. I find it exceptionally captivating, I think because it combines humor, shop-talk, and a competition all in one. KEEP IT UP.

No one really emphasized this, but I think one of the biggest downfalls of Brett's piece was that the movie trailer parodies are an extremely common type of sketch, which hurts in that it doesn't have that identity that Matt talked about in the 1st episode of the week. For some reason, no one really mentioned that when they were doing the final wrap-up, and I think it may have been the primary reason a movie trailer sketch is a weak "recurring segment." Also, I don't know if it's just me, but I'm surprised, with all the talk about sound quality, that no one has criticized Totally Laime. Does the audio for that bother anyone else, or am I nuts? It seems like the sound is very thin to my ears, like it is all treble, and has a weird hiss or fuzz to it. Does anyone else get that?